Vehicle radiator v type layout

ABSTRACT

Heat exchanger configurations for a vehicle are provided. The heat exchangers can take the form of a condenser and a radiator. Instead of arranging the heat exchangers sequentially within a unitary air duct, this disclosure describes a multiple channel ducting system, where the heat exchangers are arranged in a v shape that allows a first portion of air entering the air to travel up towards a trunk of the vehicle and a second portion of the air to travel downward and out through a bottom exterior surface of the vehicle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. Nonprovisional patentapplication Ser. No. 14/977,621, filed Dec. 21, 2015, the disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for allpurposes.

FIELD

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to ways of arranging heatdissipating components within a vehicle. In particular, a v type layoutis described in which incoming ambient air is split into two channelsthat flow to the condenser and radiator of the vehicle.

BACKGROUND

Vehicle cooling systems often utilize ambient air to dissipate heat fromradiator and condenser components of the vehicle cooling systems. Mostvehicle cooling systems arrange the radiator and condenser in parallelso that ambient air passes first through one component and then throughthe other component. Unfortunately, this type of configuration canreduce the efficiency at which heat is removed from the second componentas the ambient air arrives at the first component at a substantiallyhigher temperature than it does at the second component. Furthermore,stacking the components in parallel also tends to require a large blockof space in the vehicle immediately adjacent to an opening capable ofdrawing ambient air into the vehicle. For many designs the only feasibleplace to locate this area is at the front of the vehicle, which canpreclude the placement of other large components in that location.Consequently, alternate designs that accommodate different componentplacements and have increased heat rejection capabilities are desirable.

SUMMARY

This paper describes various embodiments that relate to coolingcomponents of a vehicle.

In a first embodiment, a vehicle cooling system is disclosed thatincludes the following: an air intake; ducting arranged to split airentering the air intake into multiple channels; a first heat exchangerarranged within a first channel of the channels; a second heat exchangerarranged within a second channel of the channels; a first exhaust ventoriented to exhaust air from the first channel through an upper exteriorsurface of a vehicle; and a second exhaust vent oriented to exhaust airfrom the second channel through a lower exterior surface of the vehicle.

In many embodiments, the first heat exchanger is oriented substantiallyorthogonal with respect to the second heat exchanger.

In many embodiments, the first heat exchanger is a radiator configuredto dissipate heat from a motor of the vehicle.

In many embodiments, the second heat exchanger can take the form of acondenser configured to dissipate heat from a cabin cooling system.

In many embodiments, the vehicle cooling system also includes air movers(e.g. fans) configured to draw air into one or more of the channels.

In many embodiments, the first heat exchanger is a condenser configuredto dissipate heat from a cabin cooling system.

In many embodiments, the second heat exchanger is a radiator configuredto dissipate heat from a motor of the vehicle.

In many embodiments, the second exhaust vent includes a number of flowguides configured to bias air exiting the second exhaust vent towards arear end of the vehicle.

In other embodiment a vehicle is disclosed that includes the following:an engine; an air conditioning system; an air intake disposed along aforward facing surface of the vehicle; ducting configured to distributeair received through the air intake into a plurality of channels; acondenser in thermally conductive contact with the air conditioningsystem and positioned within a first channel of the plurality ofchannels; and a radiator in thermally conductive contact with the engineand positioned within a second channel of the plurality of channels.

In many embodiments, the air passing through the second channel isexhausted so that it exits the vehicle and passes over the hood of thevehicle.

In many embodiments, the first channel is separate and distinct from thesecond channel.

In many embodiments, the vehicle also includes temperature sensorsconfigured to measure a temperature of the condenser and the radiator.The ducting can be configured to vary an amount of air entering each ofthe channels based on the temperatures measured by the temperaturesensors.

In many embodiments, a central portion of the ducting articulates inmultiple directions to vary the amount of air entering each of thechannels.

In many embodiments, the first channel includes an exhaust vent that isarranged so that the air exiting the first channel passes over the hoodof the vehicle.

In yet another embodiment, an electric vehicle is disclosed and includesthe following: an electric motor; an evaporator; a condenser configuredto receive heat from the evaporator; and a radiator configured toreceive heat from the electric motor, the radiator cooperating with thecondenser to form a v-shaped structure.

In many embodiments, the electric vehicle also includes an air intake;and ducting configured to distribute air received by the air intake tothe condenser and the radiator.

In many embodiments, the condenser and the radiator each include coolingfins configured to increase the dissipation of heat from the condenserand the radiator.

In many embodiments, the ducting distributes air entering the electricvehicle through the air intake evenly between the condenser and theradiator.

In many embodiments, the ducting includes an articulated portionconfigured to move between multiple positions to alter the distributionof air received by the condenser and the radiator.

In many embodiments, the electric vehicle also includes flow guidespositioned at an exhaust vent that direct the flow of air exiting theradiator along a lower surface of the electric vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a vehicle suitable for use with thedescribed embodiments;

FIG. 2A shows a cut-away perspective view of a cooling system of thevehicle depicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2B shows a cross-sectional view of the cooling system depicted inFIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C shows a cross-sectional view of the vehicle depicted in FIG. 1and how exhausted air passes around the vehicle;

FIG. 3 shows exemplary cooling components associated with the condenserand the radiator; and

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram describing interaction between a controlleror processor and other components of the vehicle cooling system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Representative applications of methods and apparatus according to thepresent application are described in this section. These examples arebeing provided solely to add context and aid in the understanding of thedescribed embodiments. It will thus be apparent to one skilled in theart that the described embodiments may be practiced without some or allof these specific details. In other instances, well known process stepshave not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the described embodiments. Other applications are possible,such that the following examples should not be taken as limiting.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of the description and in whichare shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in accordancewith the described embodiments. Although these embodiments are describedin sufficient detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice thedescribed embodiments, it is understood that these examples are notlimiting; such that other embodiments may be used, and changes may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the describedembodiments.

The convective transfer of heat can be accomplished by passing a coolgas over a large heat emitting surface. As the difference between thetemperature of the gas and the temperature of the heat emitting surfacedecreases the overall heat transfer efficiency is commensurably reduced.Reducing the speed of the gas flowing over the heat emitting surface canalso cause substantial reductions in heat transfer efficiency asportions of the gas tend to remain in convective contact with the heatemitting surface for longer periods of time, thereby increasing thetemperature of the gas and reducing the heat transfer efficiency.Consequently, stacking heat emitting surfaces in parallel, so that onestream of gas passes across both sequentially has a number ofdisadvantages. In particular, the second heat emitting surface has toreject heat into the stream of gas that has already received gas fromthe first heat emitting surface. For this reason, heat transfer out ofthe second heat emitting surface is commensurably less efficient. Inembodiments, where the heat emitting surfaces take the form of finstacks, the ambient air is also slowed as it flows past the fin stacksmaking the heat transfer characteristics even worse.

One solution to this problem, in the context of a vehicle coolingsystem, is to configure an ambient air intake with multiple branchesthat each carry a portion of the air entering a vehicle to various heatemitting components within the vehicle. In this way, the heat emittingcomponents are able to receive cooling air at the exterior temperature.Additionally, the branches allow the heat emitting to be separated andplaced strategically in areas of the vehicle having space to accommodatethose heat emitting components. In some embodiments, a first heatemitting component can be arranged near an upper portion of the vehicleand a second heat emitting component can be arranged near a lowerportion of the vehicle. By arranging the components in this manner, heattransferred to the ambient air can be exhausted through vents leadingout of upper and lower portions of a vehicle. In some embodiments,heated exhaust air from one of the heat emitting components can beexhausted towards a windshield of the vehicle to act combat fogging ofthe windshield of the vehicle.

These and other embodiments are discussed below with reference to FIGS.1-XX; however, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that thedetailed description given herein with respect to these figures is forexplanatory purposes only and should not be construed as limiting.

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary vehicle suitable for use with the describedembodiments. In particular, vehicle 100 includes air intake 102positioned along a forward facing surface of vehicle 100. Also depictedis a hood 104 of vehicle 100 which can also be utilized as a means fordirecting air leaving vehicle 100. For example, a portion of the airentering air intake 102 can be exhausted along an exterior surface ofhood 104. While a speed at which vehicle 100 has a direct effect upon avolume of air entering vehicle 100, in some embodiments, vehicle 100 caninclude an internal fan that draws ambient air into air intake 102 tohelp facilitate cooling of internal heat emitting devices while vehicle100 is not in motion. Vehicle 100 can also include a windshield 106,which can also benefit from heated air leaving a cooling system ofvehicle 100.

FIG. 2A shows a cut-away perspective view of a portion of vehicle 100.In particular, FIG. 2A shows air intake 102 leading into two separateducting paths that lead to heat exchangers associated with a coolingsystem of vehicle 100. For exemplary purposes the heat exchangers can bereferred to as condenser 202 and radiator 204; however these componentlocations could be swapped in some designs. As depicted, a first ductingpath leads to condenser 202 and a second ducting path leads to radiator204. By situating condenser 202 and radiator 204 in a roughly v-shapedconfiguration, the air redirected by ducting 206 that flows throughcooling condenser 202 or radiator 204 can already be oriented towards anair exhaust duct. Flow guides 208 can be positioned at the end of thesecond ducting path to help bias exhausted air towards the rear ofvehicle 100. This can improve aerodynamics of vehicle 100 while vehicle100 is in motion. Similarly the exit of the first ducting path can alsoinclude flow guides configured to direct the flow of the exhaust air ina desired direction. In some embodiments, when the windshield is in needof heating to reduce condensation, flow guides could help orient heatedair towards windshield 106 of vehicle 100. This can be particularlyeffective given that condenser 202 is associated with a cooling systemof vehicle 100 and direction of heated air can be coordinated withoutput of air into the cabin of vehicle 100.

FIG. 2B shows how once ambient air 210 enters through air intake 102 itis directed to one of condenser 202 or radiator 204 by ducting 206.Ducting 206 has a smooth curvature at a leading edge 212 of ducting 206that prevents the creation of turbulent flow within vehicle 100. Ducting206 also helps to minimize an amount of turning ambient air is forced todo after entering into ducting 206. As depicted, ducting can beintegrally formed with a portion of hood 104 and/or a bottom portion ofvehicle 100. In this way ducting 206 can be firmly locked in placeduring operation of vehicle 100. The relatively straight pathways formedby a combination of ducting 206 and interior surfaces of a body ofvehicle 100, which the ambient inlet air follows through, helps toreduce pressure build up within the cooling system. The low pressurenature of the cooling system helps maintain high air speed velocitiesthrough the cooling system 200 by reducing back pressure generatedwithin the system on account of the reduced redirection of air. This canalso reduce an amount of resistance vehicle 100 encounters while drivingforward, thereby reducing an amount of energy used to propel thevehicle. It should be noted that while particular angles are shown inFIGS. 2A and 2B that any angle is possible and that generally a vectornormal to an inlet surface of condenser 202 has a downward facingcomponent and an inlet surface of radiator 204 has an upward facingcomponent. In some embodiments, leading edge 212 can be articulated,which allows leading edge 212 to adjust an amount of air flowing to theheat exchangers. For example, by articulating leading edge 212 ofducting 206 down towards the wheels of vehicle 100 an amount of airdirected towards radiator 204 can be substantially reduced while anamount of air reaching condenser 202 is commensurably increased. In somesituations, leading edge 212 can be reoriented to completely close theopening leading into one of the ducts.

FIG. 2C shows a high level flow pattern of air as it passes aroundvehicle 100. A portion of ambient air 210 entering vehicle 100 andpassing through condenser 202 exits along an exterior surface of vehicle100 and flows smoothly over the top of vehicle 100. A portion of ambientair 210 entering vehicle 100 and passing through radiator 204 exitsalong a bottom surface of vehicle 100. In this way a flow of airentering into vehicle 100 splits in much the same way air would if itdid not enter vehicle 100. In this way, the entry of ambient air 210into vehicle 100 can have a rather negligible effect on the aerodynamicsof vehicle 100. In some embodiments, the flow of ambient air 210 isactually less disturbed than it would be otherwise if forced above orbelow a front facing surface of vehicle 100 as it is allowed to turn atmore gradual angles. In some embodiments, this configuration can make upfor any pressure build up caused by the passage of ambient air throughfins or passages of condenser 202 and radiator 204.

FIG. 3 shows how condenser 202 and radiator 204 respectively dissipateheat from vehicle 100. Condenser 202 receives pressurized gas fromcompressor pump 302. The pressurized gas from compressor pump 302 isthen cooled by ambient air passing along a surface of condenser 202. Thesurface of condenser 202 can have a complex exterior surface geometriesconfigured to maximize an amount of the surface area exposed to ambientair 210. For example, condenser 202 can have an array of cooling finsdesigned to efficiently exchange heat with ambient air 210. The coolingsystem is designed to remove enough heat to transition the compressedgas into a liquid. The liquid then passes through expansion valve 304,which both regulates an amount of liquid reaching evaporator 306 andreduces a pressure of the liquid reaching evaporator 306. As the liquidpasses through evaporator 306, it can be used to cool air entering thecabin of vehicle 100. The air can be cooled by forcing it across asurface of evaporator 306. In some embodiments evaporator 306 caninclude a number of fins that function to increase the amount of surfacearea available for absorbing heat from the air blowing across it.Alternatively or additionally, the cooled liquid can be used to cool abattery providing power for vehicle 100. It should be noted that in someembodiments, the cabin of vehicle 100 can also be heated by this systemby for example reversing the flow of working fluid to create a heat pumpconfigured to deliver heat to the cooling system.

FIG. 3 also shows radiator 204 and how radiator 204 can be utilized todissipate heat from cooling fluids routed through motor 310. In someembodiments, motor 310 can be an electric motor. Pump 312 keeps thecooling fluids circulating between radiator 204 and motor 310. In thisway, heat generated by motor 310 can be transferred to and dissipated byradiator 204, which convectively transfers heat to ambient air 210. Itshould be noted that in some embodiments, radiator 204 can be configuredin the same way as condenser 202 causing phase changes in the heattransferring fluid flowing between motor 310 and radiator 204.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram representing controller 402 and how basedupon signals received from various temperature sensors along the linesof a cabin air temperature sensor 404 and/or a motor temperature sensor406, controller 402 can be configured to instruct air ducting controls408 to change a configuration of the air ducting so that an amount ofair delivered to each of condenser 202 and radiator 204 is changed. Thisis possible in account of each heat exchanger having its own conduit forreceiving cooling air. In some embodiments, priority is given towhichever one of the heat exchangers is the hottest. In otherembodiments, priority is given to any heat exchanger exceeding apredetermined maximum temperature for that particular heat exchanger. Itshould also be appreciated that in some embodiments more than one heatexchanger can be positioned within the vehicle and that the air ductingconfiguration controls could be capable of routing air to three or moreheat exchangers.

The various aspects, embodiments, implementations or features of thedescribed embodiments can be used separately or in any combination.Various aspects of the described embodiments can be implemented bysoftware, hardware or a combination of hardware and software. Thedescribed embodiments can also be embodied as computer readable code ona computer readable medium for controlling manufacturing operations oras computer readable code on a computer readable medium for controllinga manufacturing line. The computer readable medium is any data storagedevice that can store data which can thereafter be read by a computersystem. Examples of the computer readable medium include read-onlymemory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, HDDs, DVDs, magnetic tape, andoptical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can also bedistributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the computerreadable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specificnomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the describedembodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthe specific details are not required in order to practice the describedembodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodimentsare presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the described embodiments to theprecise forms disclosed. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill inthe art that many modifications and variations are possible in view ofthe above teachings.

1. A vehicle cooling system, comprising: an air intake; ductingconfigured to split air entering the air intake into a plurality ofchannels; a first heat exchanger arranged within a first channel of theplurality of channels; a second heat exchanger arranged within a secondchannel of the plurality of channels; a first exhaust vent oriented toexhaust air from the first channel through an upper exterior surface ofa vehicle; and a second exhaust vent oriented to exhaust air from thesecond channel through a lower exterior surface of the vehicle; and,wherein the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger arearranged together form a substantial V-shape such that the ductingdistributes air entering the electric vehicle through the air intakeevenly or substantially evenly between the first and the second heatexchangers.
 2. The vehicle cooling system as recited in claim 1, whereinthe first heat exchanger is oriented substantially orthogonal withrespect to the second heat exchanger.
 3. The vehicle cooling system asrecited in claim 2, wherein the first heat exchanger is a radiatorconfigured to dissipate heat from a motor of the vehicle.
 4. The vehiclecooling system as recited in claim 3, wherein the second heat exchangeris a condenser configured to dissipate heat from a cabin cooling system.5. The vehicle cooling system as recited in claim 1, further comprisingair movers configured to draw air into one or more of the plurality ofchannels.
 6. The vehicle cooling system as recited in claim 1, whereinthe first heat exchanger is a condenser configured to dissipate heatfrom a cabin cooling system.
 7. The vehicle cooling system as recited inclaim 6, wherein the second heat exchanger is a radiator configured todissipate heat from a motor of the vehicle.
 8. The vehicle coolingsystem as recited in claim 1, wherein the second exhaust vent includes aplurality of flow guides configured to bias air exiting the secondexhaust vent towards a rear end of the vehicle.
 9. A vehicle,comprising: an engine; an air conditioning system; an air intakedisposed along a forward facing surface of the vehicle; ductingconfigured to distribute air received through the air intake into aplurality of channels; a condenser in thermally conductive contact withthe air conditioning system and positioned within a first channel of theplurality of channels; and a radiator in thermally conductive contactwith the engine and positioned within a second channel of the pluralityof channels; and, wherein the condenser and the radiator are arranged totogether form a substantial V-shape such that the ducting distributesair entering the electric vehicle through the air intake evenly orsubstantially evenly between the condenser and the radiator.
 10. Thevehicle as recited in claim 9, wherein air passing through the secondchannel is exhausted so that it exits the vehicle and passes over thehood of the vehicle.
 11. The vehicle as recited in claim 9, wherein thefirst channel is separate and distinct from the second channel.
 12. Thevehicle as recited in claim 9, further comprising: temperature sensorsconfigured to measure a temperature of the condenser and the radiator,wherein the ducting is configured to vary an amount of air entering eachof the channels based on the temperatures measured by the temperaturesensors.
 13. The vehicle as recited in claim 12, wherein a centralportion of the ducting articulates in multiple directions to vary theamount of air entering each of the channels.
 14. The vehicle as recitedin claim 9, wherein the first channel includes an exhaust vent that isarranged so that the air exiting the first channel passes over the hoodof the vehicle.
 15. An electric vehicle, comprising: an electric motor;an evaporator; a condenser configured to receive heat from theevaporator; and a radiator configured to receive heat from the electricmotor, the radiator cooperating with the condenser to form a v-shapedstructure; and, wherein the condenser and the radiator are arranged totogether form a substantial V-shape such that the ducting distributesair entering the electric vehicle through the air intake evenly orsubstantially evenly between the condenser and the radiator.
 16. Theelectric vehicle as recited in claim 15, further comprising: an airintake; and ducting configured to distribute air received through theair intake to the condenser and the radiator.
 17. The electric vehicleas recite din claim 16, wherein the condenser and the radiator eachinclude cooling fins configured to increase the dissipation of heat fromthe condenser and the radiator.
 18. The electric vehicle as recited inclaim 16, wherein the ducting distributes air entering the electricvehicle through the air intake evenly between the condenser and theradiator.
 19. (canceled)
 20. The electric vehicle as recited in claim15, further comprising: flow guides positioned at an exhaust vent thatdirect the flow of air exiting the radiator along a lower surface of theelectric vehicle.